2019 ASHS Annual Conference

There has been a rapid increase in the use of medicinal herb plants for alternative and complimentary medicines to prevent and treat diseases including cancers in the United States. Currently, the majority of medicinal plants used in the US are imported from foreign countries. However, increasing concerns over safety such as heavy metal and chemical contaminations and lack of standardization and quality control pose significant challenges to US pharmaceutical and related industries in sourcing quality plant materials in the volume needed to meet the market demand. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of growing medicinal plants in Mississippi and develop best production practices for selected medicinal plants. Salvia miltiorrhiza was used as a model plant in this study. Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese herbal medicines and has been widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases. In this study, a series of experiments were conducted to investigate seed propagation methods and nutrient management practices. Detailed results on germination performance, plant growth, and production of bioactive compounds will be presented.